Late nights 'sap children's brain power'

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23223751

Late nights and lax bedtime routines can blunt young children's minds, research suggests.

The findings on sleep patterns and brain power come from a UK study of more than 11,000 seven-year-olds.

Youngsters who had no regular bedtime or who went to bed later than 21:00 had lower scores for reading and maths.

Lack of sleep may disrupt natural body rhythms and impair how well the brain learns new information say the study authors.

[bemildred]

1. Lack of sleep will sap anybodies brain power.

Last edited Wed Jul 10, 2013, 06:31 AM - Edit history (1)

So will stress and lots of other things.

If we want our kids to do well in school they need to be well rested, well fed, and well cared for.

[xchrom]

2. i've posted several, several articles now that leads me to believe

we need something to quantify under-supported, neglected, under-nourished, etc kids.

things from brain trauma to food just leads me to think -- we're shooting in the dark to often.

[bemildred]

3. It's no accident, taking care of ALL our kids costs money, tax money.

We used to do it, when I was a kid, but later on we had to choose schools or profits, and we chose profits, like the fools we are. As though we could compete with a mis-educated workforce.

[xchrom]

4. indeed. nt

[Warpy]

5. Then there are people with delayed sleep phase disorder

Mine started in infancy, according to my mother, because I'd be bright as a new penny all night and fall asleep in the early morning and stay that way until noon.

Mornings have always been pure hell for me if I've had to be awake. I gravitated toward jobs I could do in the evening or at night all my life.

I wonder how smart I might have been had my own sleep pattern been recognized.

[SheilaT]

6. Getting sufficient sleep at all ages is far more important than people realize.

Too many out there think that time spent sleeping is time wasted. While exact sleep requirement do vary, it's a rare adult who functions optimally on less than 7 hours a night.

Me? I like getting nine or so, and I've long thought that my generally getting plenty of sleep especially when I was younger, may be a large part of why I'm so healthy.

And I get very testy with sanctimonious morning people who assume their natural sleep/wake cycle is better than other cycles.